DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites

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DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020:
                                              Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                                              Study Summary
The deep dive analysis of more than 22 million profile pictures from online daters all around the globe shows us:
 How online daters present themselves differs widely between the US and other countries, but there are some
  common aspects too. There is no guarantee to being successful in online dating, but this study shows that
                     paying lots of attention to your profile images is a good way to start!
DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
Fun Facts
68% of bathroom mirror selfies (including toilet) are from women
The place with the highest male picture share is the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Missouri

Very academic? The koala:   65% of pictures with a koala are from academics
Some like it hot? All pictures with chilies are from men

Especially male? Bagpipes:   95% of pictures with bagpipes are from men
Aayeee batter batter batter, Saaawingg! US has the third highest
percentage of Baseball themed photos

Surprisingly, bald eagles are the second least favorite animal for
academics on their pictures.

A puurrfect   50% of academics and non academics alike prefer hairless cats
More than   20% of pictures with bacon on it are from the people from the US
Favorite international getaway for academics is Basilica di San Lorenzo, Firenze

Academics and non academics share an equal love of eating at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Sip, sip, ney? The US ranks lowest in photos with Champagne

Cheerleading is very academic. Nearly   75% of all cheerleaders have
or are about to earn an academic degree.

Nearly   80% of pictures where erotic literature is enjoyed come from women
Tell me about it, Stud. American men are in the top four ranking for bodybuilders shown
online

Pennywise vs. Harley Quinn: Clown costumes come in at      40% women and 60% men
DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
Content
    Fun Facts                                                                            02
    About us:                                                                            05
    What we did                                                                          06
    Did you know that...                                                                 07
    Introduction: What you should know about online dating profile pictures in general   08
    Demographic characteristics of the US online dating market                           09
           Gender distribution                                                           09
           Age distribution                                                              10
    Men are from Mars? - How men present themselves online                               11
           The average male US-american online dater                                     11
               Appearance                                                                12
               Male hair colors                                                          12
           Very manly: Top 10 motives per age group                                      13
           A boast of bravery                                                            16
               Extreme sports                                                            16
               Manly = muddy?                                                            17
               Wild animals                                                              18
               Sign right up and get your tickets to the gun show                        20
               “I can be your hero, baby”                                                21
               Finally: Who loves fishing?                                               21
    “Where’s my prince charming?” How female online daters present themselves            22
           The average US-american female online dater                                   22
               Appearance                                                                23
               Female hair colors                                                        23
           Very feminine: Top 10 motives per age group                                   24
           Tiaras, dresses and horses?                                                   27
               Horses - Cow girls or Prince Charming riding in?                          28
            More girly stuff                                                             29
               Top5 clothing items                                                       29
               Top 5 colors in women’s pictures                                          29
           Women and sports                                                              30
    How do Americans present themselves - regardless of the gender?                      31
           Most popular motives                                                          32
               City, countryside or beach?                                               32
           Snow, sun or rain?                                                            33
               Colors                                                                    33
    What else is on these pictures?                                                      34
           First of all, let’s talk about bodies!                                        35
           Animals and pets                                                              36
           Look, these are my friends                                                    38
           Food                                                                          39
           Drinks                                                                        41
           Cars                                                                          42
           Most popular interests and hobbies                                            43
               Travel                                                                    44
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DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
Content
                Sports                                                                       44
                Music                                                                        45
                Dancing                                                                      46
            Lesbian & Gay                                                                    47
            College and university students and graduates                                    50
            Suits and uniforms                                                               51
                Suit up!                                                                     51
    Subtle messages                                                                          52
            “Let’s get married”                                                              53
            “I want kids and an own family”                                                  54
            “I want sex”                                                                     55
            “Cuddle with me!”                                                                57
    Show me the money: How much does your heart cost?                                        58
            Who’s trying to impress with luxury?                                             58
                Luxury cars                                                                  59
                Dating rich                                                                  60
    The USA compared to other countries - how big are the differences between the nations?   62
            Facts about the international online dating market                               62
                Gender ratio                                                                 63
                Sexual orientation                                                           64
                Age distribution                                                             65
            International Rankings                                                           66
                Online daters abroad                                                         66
                Who has the happiest online daters?                                          67
                Who has the most pictures with sad or angry looking people?                  67
                Who uploads the worst photos?                                                68
                Who shows the most skin?                                                     69
                Rated X: Who is uploading the dirtiest photos?                               69
                Which country is the most athletic online?                                   70
                Which country is the healthiest?                                             70
                Which country drinks the most Alcohol?                                       71
                Who wears the most hats?                                                     73
                Who shows off the most weapons?                                              73
                Who likes children the most?                                                 74
                Who takes the most group photos?                                             75
                Which countries have the most marriage ready online daters?                  75
                Who shows off the most luxury?                                               76
    Funny sayings                                                                            77
    Results Summary                                                                          78
            Expert advice for the perfect profile picture                                    79
            A peek into the future                                                           83
    Image credits                                                                            84
    Copyright                                                                                87

4
DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

    About us:
    DatingScout.com is a service that compares online dating sites and apps for you.
    We’re testing all the major dating sites and apps in order to provide you with a
    reliable and reputable evaluation: Which provider is just right for you? Do they offer
    fair prices? Are there many fake profiles or bots? With our reviews you’ll be able to
    avoid disappointments and paying for subscriptions that you don’t need.
    There are many different kinds of dating services out there: Websites or apps for
    dating and meeting new people, professional matchmakers or casual dating sites
    for short-term (erotic) encounters. And within these main categories, you’ll find
    hundreds of providers, some of them being for certain interest groups such as
    vegans, plus-size partners or religious people.
    DatingScout.com helps singles connect on the web to find their new partner for
    fun, dates or even for life.

             Publisher of the study:

                                                            Big Bamboo GmbH
                                                            German Accelerator Tech
                                                            Phone: +1 929 2072623
                                                            E-Mail: press@datingscout.com
                                                            Web: www.datingscout.com
             Chris Pleines   Andia Bothe   Celia Schweyer   1355 Market Street, Suite 488
                                                            San Francisco, CA 94103
5
DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                                What we did

     More than 22 million       More than 22 million profile pictures of online dating users from 13 countries,
       pictures have been       including 4.9 million from the USA have been analyzed, evaluated and transformed
    analyzed using artificial   into beautiful graphs within an informative as well as highly entertaining study.
     intelligence and over
             6,000 features
                                Using artificial intelligence and a deep learning algorithm, these pictures were
                                scanned for over 6,000 features and characteristics including hair colours, facial
                                expressions, objects, animals and backgrounds amongst many other things.

                                With the data gained from this, we’re able to present detailed analyses of the online
                                dating market and its preferences when it comes to visual presentation: The ages
                                and genders of online daters as well as the answer to how this influences their
                                choice of profile picture(s).

                                This study is the first of its kind to take an in depth analysis of online dating photos
                                on a worldwide scale.

6
DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
Did you know that...
    online dating experts at DatingScout analyzed data of more than 22 million profile pictures from the US
    and 15 other countries and compared them? (Page 6)

    about 20 percent of all pictures in online dating are selfies?

    that Americans upload the most pictures, 4.8 in average, while the international average is 4?

    the average male american online dater is 5’8’’ tall, bearded and has black hair? (Page 12)

    men prefer wild tigers and lions to the tamed housecat? (Page 19)

    the average female american online dater has long, brown hair and is 5’5’’ tall? (Page 23)

    nearly one third of the recognizable photospots show forest and nature? (Page 32)

    more than 80% of animals shown on photos are dogs? (Page 36)

    beer is the most seen beverage on pictures and is seen 160x more often than water? (Page 41)

    most US-American online daters drive Jeeps? (Page 42)

    sports and travelling are the most popular hobbies and interests among US-american online daters? (Page 43)

    fitness and extreme sports are the first choice for american online daters when it comes to sports? (Page 44)

    there are more male singers than female ones among american online daters? (Page 45)

    Spiders, skulls and tattoos are rather unlikely to be spotted on profiles of academics (Page 50)

    the gender ratios of online daters with wedding pics and pictures with children on them is nearly equal?
    (Page 54)

    more than 80% of pictures posing with luxury vehicles are from men? (Page 59)

    the gender ratio is most balanced in the US and every fifth online dater here is bi- or homosexual? (Page 64)

    Ireland has the happiest online daters and Italians apparently don’t like to smile that much? (Page 67)

    the Australians are most likely to seduce with nudity and the Germans seem to be more chase? (Page 69)

    Australia has the most athletic online daters and the Irish people seem to be more lazy in comparison? (Page 70)

    the Italians love healthy food as much as fast food? (Page 70)

    Irish online daters are less likely to be able to dispense with alcohol? (Page 71)

    the Americans show off the most weapons? (Page 73)

    the online daters that like children the most compared with the other countries are Americans? (Page 74)

    the most show-offish online daters are to be found in France? (Page 76)

    Nearly 15% of all pictures international show online daters doing sports?

    About 13% of all pictures are group photos?

    14% of online daters international wear glasses?

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DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
Introduction: What you should know about online

dating profile pictures in general

         Profile photos are     Although they say to never judge a book by its cover, in the world of online dating,
       the first impression     your front page is your story. And regardless of gender, it should produce an equally
                                contagious “wow” factor. We all know, if you don't make the best first impression,
                                your impression will be lost, but what exactly is the best way to steal the digital
                                spotlight? This question depends entirely on your motive; What are you looking for?
                                A casual flirt or affair? Or perhaps something more serious...
          Every platform has    Luckily for you, there are many options to choose from that fit your online aim. With
     its own type of criteria   such portals for light hearted fun (dating sites), long term love (dating agencies) or
                                NSA (casual dating). In addition to these groupings, there are also many sub
                                divisions to help you narrow down your search for the Mr./Ms. Right (or right now)
                                These specializations include: flirting, vegetarian pairing and even matchmaking for
                                those of us with “ a little more to love”, to just name three out of many.

                                When it comes to rating photos, it is clear that there are different standards for men
                                and women. While selfies tend to be acceptable for women, they are not so well
                                received when produced by men (especially if they are the only type of photos in a
           Gender makes a       profile). Although, there are some criteria which can be judged the same for both
           difference in the    genders.
        response to a photo
                                It’s true that the profile photo is the overall initial eye catcher, however what many
                                fail to remember is that with the correct photo the right emotions can be elicited. By
   The visual presentation      associating an image with positive emotions, the brain can also associate good
     of oneself allows much     character traits as well.
inference to a personality
                                The biggest example would be a smile. With this simple statement one can make
                                many positive inferences that other facial expressions do not evoke. For example, a
                                feeling of closeness. In addition, the background of an image can also be very crucial
                                to the overall perception - is this person fun loving? Athletic? Animal adoring? A
                                complete couch potato or a party animal?

    Not only attractiveness     Any way you slice it, the first impression is made from a profile photo. Be it attractive
           can be displayed     or repulsion, this image can take the cake. So what exactly do online daters show in
           through a photo,
                                their photos and how?
       but interests as well

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DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
Demographic characteristics

of the US online dating market

                               Gender distribution

    The gender ratio is very   For the US online dater, especially the male ones, they should consider themselves
        balanced in the US     very lucky when it comes to the gender ratio. Our data shows a rough ratio of 49%
      online dating market     to 51%, making it the most balanced ratio from all 13 countries we have analyzed.

                                                     Gender distribution of US online daters

                                                48.69% female

                                                                                             51.31% male

                               Online dating is nowadays the preferred method to meet a new partner or
                               acquaintance. With a ratio this balanced, it shows the chance for success is quite
                               equal for men and women. This, on the other hand, means that all online daters
                               should put thought and quality content into their profiles in order to attract their
                               desired or potential matches.

                               Looking into the gender ratio further divided into age groups, we’re very surprised
                               to see that young females outnumber their male counterparts. So, for every female
                               using online dating from ages 18-24 there’s only roughly 0.7 men for them to date
                               (from the same age group). Considering that women often prefer a partner above
                               their own age, this advantage for young men probably slightly decreases.
                               The ratio almost exactly switches for people from ages 25 to 34, later the male
                               proportion raises even more. For men above the age of 55, finding a partner online
                               gets really rough, when only 22 percent of the market share goes to women.

                                                     Gender ratio within specific age groups
                                                                                                   84%
                                                                                                  77.

                                       80%
                                                                                      20%
                                                                         16%
                                                     44%

                                                            88%

                                       70%                                                                     Men
                                                                                     62.
                                                                        62.
                                                 58.

                                                           57.

                                       60%
                                                                  12%
                                               56%

                                                                               84%

                                                                                            80%

                                       50%                                                                     Women
                                                                 42.
                                              41.

                                                                              37.

                                                                                           37.

                                       40%
                                                                                                         16%

                                       30%
                                                                                                        22.

                                       20%
                                       10%
                                        0%
9                                             18-24 yrs    25-34 yrs    35-44 yrs    45-54 yrs     55+yrs
DatingScout Pro le Picture Study 2019/2020: Sel es, Trucks and Dating Sites
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

     Age distribution

     A whopping 84.49% shows most people looking for a partner online are younger
     than 35 years old.
     What could be the reason here? We’ve concluded that either people older than 35
     are not in need of a partner anymore, or they prefer dating without the aid of
     technology.

                                       Total age distribution
                              3.12% 45-54 yrs           0.24% above 55 yrs
                        11.51% 35-44 yrs                        44.49% 18-24 yrs

                                                        40.64% 25-34 yrs

     Almost half the men using online dating are between 25 and 34 years old. A little bit
     more than a third are younger than that. In comparison to the total and the female’s
     chart below, more men are still using online dating platforms or apps above the age
     of 35.

                                      Male age distribution
                             3.78% 45-54 yrs            0.36% above 55 yrs
                        13.94% 35-44 yrs                        36.05% 18-24 yrs

                                                        45.86% 25-34 yrs

     Women however, either start online dating earlier, which would explain the huge
     proportion of 53.4% in the youngest age group, or commit to a (serious) relationship
     earlier in life. Naturally, this leads to a decreased number of female online daters in
     the other age groups.

                                      Female age distribution
                              2.42% 45-54 yrs           0.11% above 55 yrs
                           8.94% 35-44 yrs
                                                                53.38% 18-24 yrs

                                                    35.15% 25-34 yrs

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Men are from Mars?

How men present themselves online

                                The average male US-American online dater

     Physical attractiveness    What does he look like? How does he present himself on dating platforms?
     and cultural capital are   Is it possible to detect specific male characteristics when it comes to profile
          important factors     pictures? We will have a look at both sides to this question. One being what are the
                                most used pictures or motives, as well as what motives are most used by men while
                                being rarely used by women. Later we’ll also have a look on the ladies, we promise!
                                From the long history of mankind we know that male chances to succeed are
                                especially good when physical attractiveness and cultural capital meet at a high
                                level. Looking into our data, we see that many men are trying to satisfy these
                                requirements by using pictures of themselves while training at the gym or showing
                                their possessions like cars, tech, or luxury items.
                                But how much do men actually show? The first thing to look into here is the number
                                of profile pictures. The average number of profile pictures for US-American men is
                                4.8 - which is the highest among all countries in the study. Looking into the detailed
                                chart, we can see that 4-5 profile pictures are indeed the biggest proportion. But
                                surprisingly, having 6-9 profile pictures is almost equally popular. Only few men dare
                                to upload less. While three good pictures may still be roughly enough to succeed in
                                online dating, two or even just one won’t convince many potential partner. Then
                                again, having more than 10 pictures is simply too much.

                                                How many profile pictures are uploaded by men?

                                                  5.72% 1 profile picture        0.21% 10+ profile pictures
                                             6.11% 2 profile pictures                    39.60% 4-5 profile pictures
                                          11.77% 3 profile pictures

                                                                                 36.59% 6-9 profile pictures

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DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

     Appearance

     What are the most distinctive characteristics in male appearance? We were looking
     into the most noticed bodily features in male pictures, and here’s what we found
     out: Roughly a third of men's pictures features a beard. Glasses, sunglasses included,
     are present in about 13% of all images. Guys showing their muscle-bound
     body/chest make up to 11.42% of all images - in addition a tenth of these images
     shows a hairy chest - whereas a well detectable smile is only present in less than 5%
     of all images (a bit disappointing). While other studies show that too much of a smile
     in a man’s face lowers his attractiveness, a sweet grin has many times been proven a
     successful feature to start a flirt.
     Tattoos were very rarely detected within this study. Although the percentage of men
     with ink in their skin is much higher in total, only few are showing them in their
     dating profiles. A handful of kinky or playful fellows thought it’s a good idea to stick
     out the tongue. Yes, it’s only 0.22% but considering our large data set, that still equals
     a few thousand whom someone should tell to delete those pictures.

                                   Male apperance characteristics
                                          12%

                             35%
                                         31.

                             30%
                             25%
                             20%
                                                  61%

                                                          42%

                             15%
                                                12.

                                                        11.

                             10%
                                                                 9%
                                                                4.8

                                                                          7%

                              5%
                                                                                          43%

                                                                                                     %
                                                                                                      .22
                                                                              9
                                                                       air 0.

                                                                                   (s) 0.

                               0
                                                                                                gue 0
                                      air

                                                s

                                                        s

                                                                ile
                                               sse

                                                      scle

                                                              Sm

                                                                                  too
                                    ial h

                                                                      st h

                                                                                           Ton
                                            Gla

                                                     Mu

                                                                             Tat
                                                                   Che
                                   Fac

     Male hair colors

     Only the four most detected hair colors were included here, apologies to all lovely
     hipsters, punks and free spirits out there with colored hair. Black hair being the most
     detected one here, brown and blond hair on #2 and #3. Very little redheads were
     found in our data, less than one percent.

                                                Male hair colors

                                                                             0.32% Red hair
                    32.75% Brown hair

                                                                                            42.31% Black hair

                                                                          24.62% Blond hair

12
Very manly:

Top 10 motives per age group

                            What is most relevant for men in their distinctive age group? What are the
                            differences between younger and older men? We sorted our data in a way that
                            compares male age groups and ranks motives by relative frequency. So: What can be
                            found frequently in male profiles ages 18-24 while being less or rarely present in all
                            other age groups? And so on...

                            Top 10 male US-American online daters ages 18 to 24

                             1    Lacrosse                                 6    Pickup truck

         Men aged 18 to
                             2    Water polo                               7    Military
     24 years love sports
       and pickup trucks     3    Wrestling                                8    Ice hockey

                             4    Football                                 9    Soccer

                             5    Baseball                                10    Skateboarding

                            It’s no secret that men love sports. And they are not shy to share their passions on
                            their dating profiles, but why all the game play? In American culture masculinity is a
                            hot topic, for us here we believe this to be the main motivator for these strong social
                            media snaps. And it doesn’t stop at the adoration of athletics, but one also the
                            fondness for machines. Oh yes, we are talking big ole ‘Merican trucks. Our studies
                            show that pickup trucks rank number six in this specific age group. The truck is not
                            only a symbol of strength, but individualism, a concept many Americans strive to
                            achieve in their youth.

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DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

     Top 10 male US-American online daters ages 25 to 34

      1    Military                                  6    Bungee jumping

      2    Paintball                                 7    Disc jockeying

      3    Card Games                                8    Groomsman

      4    Fire Juggling                             9    Pitbull

      5    Music recording                          10    Bouldering

     As the man progresses in life, so does his online dating profile. As we previously saw
     from our study of younger daters, there is a high portrayal of individualism and
     machismo. However, moving forward the men begin to present themselves having
     more brain over brawn. With such activities as musical talents, card expertise and
     interest in commitment, we must say that we see these grown men as looking for a
     little more out of their online matches than the younger demographics...Regardless,
     men will be men, so no one can entirely escape the allure of sports or even a quick
     pic of a tough pet.

     Top 10 male US-American online daters ages 35 to 44

      1    Memes or pictures with text               6    Superhero cosplay

      2    Lion                                      7    Coast or haven

      3    Combat sports                             8    Railroad tracks

      4    Snooker or pool                           9    Big cats

      5    Markets and busy streets                 10    Red carpet

     One does not simply post a meme onto their profile...or do they?
     After a quick stint with the more refined style of digital dating portrayals, our guys
     start to head to show off a sillier side. With memes, superhero costumes, trains and
     big kitty cats being in the top ranking profile pictures, we see that even with age,
     boys will be boys.

14
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

     Top 10 male US-American online daters ages 45 to 54

      1    Palm trees                               6    Bicycle sports

      2    Savanna                                  7    Morning red sky

      3    Different types of helmets               8    Clip art images

      4    Flags                                    9    Golf

      5    Weight lifting                          10    Antique cars

     Middle age is a myth they say, or as we’ve learned from our study, a cliche? Fellows
     from 45 to 54 demographic tend to present themselves as the laid back, live it up,
     Hallmark gift card guy. With pictures of pleasant palm trees, memorable morning
     skies and sizzling savannas, we can see from the data that our men choose not to
     only stay fit physically but introspectively as well.

     Top 10 male US-American online daters ages above 55

      1    Chopper                                  6    Fishing

      2    Watercrafts                              7    Winter sports

      3    Food                                     8    Dogs

      4    Luxury vehicles                          9    Fish

      5    Marathon                                10    Swimming

     Our study shows the 55 and over crowd are anything but senior. With high
     percentages in sports, these men seem to be ready to keep on living the high life. As
     shown above, we can see they still enjoy some quality pet time and a good meal.
     Over all, these aging macho men can be found out and about taking in some
     pleasurable pastimes.

15
A boast of bravery

                     What else can be said about the modern online dater? The answer is quite simple:
                     They haven’t changed much since the stone age, except for the gear. They want to
                     be displayed as heroes, by showing their strength and spine.

                     Extreme sports

                     Bungee jumping, Skydiving or Motocross riding - we’ve summed up all types of
                     extreme sports and checked the male/female ratio. Most pictures, almost three
                     quarters, come from men in the total chart.

                                               Who’s showing extreme sports?

                                      28.00% Women

                                                                       72.00% Men

                     A more detailed look reveals that some types of extreme sport attract more women:
                     Bungee jumping, skydiving and paragliding. These may be once-in-a-lifetime-adventures,
                     which women want to experience and show proof in their profiles, so their share is higher
                     here.

16
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                          Who’s showing which type of extreme sports?

                100.00%

                                             15%
                 90.00%

                                          87.

                                                                           68%
                 80.00%

                                                                                           12%
                                                                       73.

                                                                                       69.
                                36%
                 70.00%

                                                             06%

                                                                                                         79%
                            60.

                                                         59.

                                                                                                     58.
                 60.00%

                                                                                                             21%
                                                                 94%
                 50.00%

                                    64%

                                                                                                         41.
                                                             40.
                                39.

                                                                                               88%
                 40.00%

                                                                               32%

                                                                                           30.
                 30.00%

                                                                           26.
                                                  85%
                 20.00%

                                              12.
                 10.00%
                      0
                             Bungee       Motocross     Paragliding    Rafting       Rockclimbing Skydiving
                            jumping

                                                      Women             Men

     Manly = muddy?

     Well, there we go: Men and mud - Some men love to release their inner dog and
     become as dirty as possible, and we see why this can be really fun. It also reveals
     quite a lot about the personality of a man when he shows himself like that: He loves
     adventures, doesn’t take himself too seriously and definitely seeks a woman who
     does not need to check a mirror every other minute. He’s the type of guy to start
     food fights or accept every single silly bet that is offered to him. His fun energy is
     endless, just to let you know what you are getting yourself into. For some, that may
     be too much. For others, he’s a rare gem that should be embraced. And, before we
     forget, a quarter of all mud loving people is female. These girls are just as fun but
     may request a hot shower sooner or later.

                                                   Who loves mud?

                     25.00% Women

                                                                            75.00% Men

17
Wild animals

               Who loves wild animals? Is it still mainly the male to tame them? Many online daters
               love to travel or visit zoos and take pictures with their creature encounters. Let’s find
               out who does it most.

                                              Who meets with wild animals?

                        90.00%
                        80.00%

                                                                                                                67%
                                  85%

                        70.00%
                                                            44%

                                                                                                               65.
                                                                                            00%
                                               94%
                                 64.

                                                                         24%

                                                                                                   95%
                                                           58.

                        60.00%

                                                                                           57.
                                              56.

                                                                        55.

                                                                                                  54.

                                                                                                         05%
                                                                               76%
                                                     06%

                                                                                      00%
                                                                  56%

                        50.00%

                                                                                                        45.
                                                                              44.
                                        15%

                                                    43.

                                                                                     43.

                                                                                                                      33%
                                                                 41.

                        40.00%
                                       35.

                                                                                                                     34.
                        30.00%
                        20.00%
                        10.00%
                             0
                                  Birds       Whales &     Wild Cats    Camels       Elephant     Reptiles     Monkeys
                                              Dolphins                                                         and Apes

                                                             Women                  Men

               Women are only slightly less likely to show themselves with wild animals, but it can’t
               be said that this is a completely manly habit. It just happen to be a bit more that men
               do it. Surprisingly, reptiles come in second for “most women”, which should disprove
               the belief that animals need to be cuddly and fluffy in order to win over a woman's
               heart. Elephants too aren’t exactly known for being furry and still return the biggest
               female share in this chart.

               Naturally we at DatingScout love cats so we decided to take a deeper look into these
               purrrcentages:

18
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                                          Wild cats or house cat?

                       90.00%
                       80.00%

                                                   89%

                                                                                                   97%
                                               67.

                                                                                     69%
                       70.00%

                                    06%

                                                                                               61.
                                                                       50%

                                                                                 59.
                                58.
                       60.00%

                                                                  50%
                                                                   53.
                                         94%

                                                                                31%
                       50.00%

                                                              46.

                                                                                              03%
                                     41.

                                                                             40.
                                                        11%

                                                                                           38.
                       40.00%

                                                    32.
                       30.00%
                       20.00%
                       10.00%
                            0
                                  Tiger          Lion            Cat         Cheetah       Leopard

                                                  Women                 Men

     Lions and tiger and big cats, oh my!
     It seems that male or female, our online daters have a certain feline for larger cats.

19
Sign right up and get

your tickets to the gun show

                          Being the land of the free and home of the brave that the United States is, their take
                          on dating profiles shows that these men and women choose not only to show bare
                          arms but their right to bare arms. Woman tend to be the more carry and conceal
                          creature with only a 17% chance of brandishing on their bio but our photo studies
                          show men come in with whopping 83% in terms of parading a piece on their
                          profile…However, why may this be?

                                                   Who’s showing their weapons?
                                              17.00% Women
        83% of pictures
     with arms are from
     male online daters

                                                                                  83.00% Men

                          Many believe that the answer to this lies in the well held history of our country.
                          Fighting for what is ours and showing strength through the wielding of a weapon.
                          Perhaps it is a simpler biological aspect- men must be masculine and portray
                          themselves as protectors, or simply the cowboy culture made its mark and everyone
                          wants to be John Wayne, Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood-esk rebel without a cause..the
                          data has not yet led us to a clear answer. In all, it is simply the American way.

20
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                             “I can be your hero, baby”

                             Women love to be charmed. And are in constant need to be rescued, according to
                             the standard superhero tale, which is “bad villain captures princess, superhero flies,
                             runs or jumps to the rescue”. But, dear men, if women loved their supernatural
                             rescuers so much, why is it that superhero comic books are a rather male thing?
                             While we don’t want to speak against the great pop culture domain of comic books,
                             we must say something about male online daters dressing up as superheroes. Yes,
                             there is a market share for almost everything but please always consider that you
                             might just look silly with these hulk hands or superman cape. Still, we’re also talking
                             about a 23 percent superheroine share here. Yet it is doubtful that any man would
                             complain about meeting Catwoman or Lara Croft.

                                                     Who dresses up as superhero(ine)?

                                                  23.00% Women

                                                                               77.00% Men

                             Finally: Who loves fishing?

                             If he doesn’t shoot or dress up silly, he might just be a man who loves nature and
                             show his skills as a provider: A fisher with his rod and proudest catch. With 84
                             percent, there are definitely more men going fishing than women.

                                                              Who loves fishing?
     84% of all fishers in                        15.88% Women
      our data are male

                                                                               84.12% Men

21
“Where’s my prince charming?”

                                                                          How female online daters

                                                                                 present themselves

                               The average US-American female online dater

                               How do women like to present themselves online? Evolutionary scientists have
                               found that physical traits matter indeed: Women who are looking feminine and
                               healthy are preferred by men, though looks are of course influenced by individual
                               taste.
 Most women in the US are      We took a detailed look at the women in our study:
    using 6 to 9 pictures in   Most women love to offer a broad view of themselves with 6 to 9 profile pictures.
       their dating profiles   The average number of pictures is 5, which is the highest among all countries in the
                               study.
                               Also popular is a number of 4 to 5 pictures - still enough to make a good impression.
                               Only very few women decide to show less. While three pictures, if they aren’t all
                               selfies from the same angle, can still provide good insights, two or just one image
                               might not be enough here. Having more than ten pictures is not recommended -
                               you should keep some surprises until you guys meet.

                                                How many profile pictures do women upload?

                                                2.87% 1 profile picture         0.40% 10+ profile pictures
                                             3.34% 2 profile pictures
                                           8.08% 3 profile pictures                    39.60% 4-5 profile pictures

                                                                               45.71% 6-9 profile pictures

22
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                                 Appearance

      Long hair, smiles and      What is most characteristic for female online daters in the US? If we take all pictures
       showing abs: Typical      of women and check them for the most frequent traits, long hair comes in first - not
     female traits in pictures   a complete surprise to us. Smiling, however, is in the second place and the number
                                 here is much higher than in the male chart - women like to smile more often. Still it’s
                                 only 13.44% of all pictures that show a well detectable smile. This number may thus
                                 not include cute smirks.
                                 About 4.5 percent of women show their abs, arms and other muscles. Sticking out
                                 the tongue is a thing that 0.65 percent of female daters do, other traits are even rarer.
                                 Visible tattoos are present in less than 0.25 percent, cute freckles and piercings are
                                 barely seen at all.

                                                          Female appearance characteristics
                                                        35.00%

                                                                       23%
                                                        30.00%
                                                                   27.
                                                        25.00%
                                                        20.00%
                                                                              44%
                                                        15.00%
                                                                             13.

                                                        10.00%                          5%
                                                                                    4.5

                                                         5.00%
                                                                                                                        %

                                                                                                                        %

                                                                                                                       4%

                                                                                                                      03%
                                                                                                   .65

                                                                                                                    .24

                                                                                                                 s 0.1
                                                                                             gue 0

                                                                                                                ng 0.
                                                         0.00%
                                                                                                              too 0
                                                                   air

                                                                             ile

                                                                                    s
                                                                                   scle

                                                                                                            ckle
                                                                         Sm

                                                                                                           erci
                                                                  gh

                                                                                                     Tat
                                                                                          Ton
                                                                                   Mu

                                                                                                        Fre
                                                                 Lon

                                                                                                      y pi
                                                                                                  Bod

                                 Female hair colors

                                 When it comes to hair colors, the most detected one is brown. A large share of 45
                                 percent goes to this color. About 31 percent of pictures with visible hair show black hair,
                                 23 percent are blonde women. The share of redheads is very little, just roughly more
                                 than one percent.

                                                                         Female hair colors

 Most female online daters                                                                                1.34% Red hair
         have brown hair                         30.81% Black hair
                                                                                                                 22.67% Blond hair

                                                                                                         45.18% Brown hair

23
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                             Very feminine: Top 10 motives per age group

                             What is most relevant for women in their distinctive age group? What are the
                             differences between younger and older women? Again, we sorted our data in a way
                             that compares female age groups and ranks motives by relative frequency. So, what
                             can be found frequently in female profiles ages 18-24 while being less or rarely
                             present in all other (female) age groups?

                             Top 10 female US-American online daters ages 18-24:

                               1    Cheerleading                              6    Volleyball

                               2    Hedgehogs                                 7    Miniskirts

                               3    Violets                                   8    Swimsuits/Bikinis

                               4    Pumpkins                                  9    Peaches

                               5    Bathroom/Toilet                          10    Bras

                             We found some typical and some rather surprising motives in this ranking. While
                             cheerleading is obviously very popular and thus a picture often used in social media
                             as well as online dating, we can’t quite figure out these hedgehogs ranking on #2?
                             Number 4, pumpkins on the other hand, is an overall quite iconic motive around
                             Halloween but seemingly especially popular amongst young women. Number 5 -
                             selfies in front of a bathroom mirror - should be abandoned better sooner than later.
                             Why are these still here? Looking at the rest of the Top10, we’re seeing sports, fruit
                             and lots of skin. Young women love hanging out at the beach or have nights out
                             with their friends. They also love showing their self-confidence.

                             Top 10 female US-American online daters ages 25-34:

                               1    Satin                                     6    Blouses

                               2    Handbag                                   7    Photo booth snapshots
  Woman between 25 and
  34 love to put the focus     3    Bridesmaid                                8    Roller derby
 on themselves and their
    clothes but also show
      their achievements       4    Dekoletté/Cleavage                        9    Academic cap

                               5    Leather or fetish clothes                10    Cocktail dresses

                             A fine mix of traits concerning the appearance as well as hobbies and achievements
                             can be found here. Satin is mostly seen in fine dresses and these photos are thus very
                             feminine or even sexy. We see many bridesmaids in this age groups. If these women
                             use pictures like that in online dating, they may speak out a subtle wish for a serious
                             relationship - read more about this later in this study. Clothing that is meant to be truly
                             sexy and seducing and nothing less is also mostly seen in this age group. On the other
                             hand, women show their sporty side once again, this time with roller derby. Also
24                           they’re graduating college or university and love showing their academic caps
                             .
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                             Top 10 female US-American online daters ages 35-44:

                              1    Red carpets                               6    Sport climbing

Red carpets vs. knit caps:    2    Knit caps                                 7    Historical landmarks
       Both socialites and
 down-to-earth-women          3    Calligraphy                               8    Track and field athletics
               are present
        in this age group
                              4    Marathon                                  9    Skiing

                              5    Fedora                                   10    Canoe sports

                             Celebrity-Alert - or what? We’re seeing a lot of red carpets here with very stylish
                             women in elegant clothing. But it gets right back to basics on #2: Cute knit caps are
                             very popular among this age group. Having pictures with motivational quotes on
                             them is also something we’ve seen a lot here. And now it gets really sporty:
                             Marathon, climbing, track and field athletics, canoe sports and skiing are all present
                             here. Also, women at age 35 to 44 appreciate culture and traveling.

                             Top 10 female US-American online daters ages 45-54:

                              1    Cowboy hats                               6    Swimming

             Cowboy hats      2    Christmas trees                           7    Bodybuilding
     and cruisers - women
           between 45 and     3    Cruiser                                   8    Mixed-breed Dogs
      54 are very outgoing
                              4    Flowers                                   9    Sailing

                              5    Fur clothing                             10    Jogging

                             Another interesting mix of traits. Let’s start with the cowboy hat - yeeeehaw. Are these
                             party accessories or an expression of true country love? Second is Christmas trees, well
                             that’s lovely and shows affection to the holiday season and expresses a certain wish for
                             romance.
                             Cruisers are a very cool thing too - ladies ages 35-44 may be in for a ride across the
                             country. Again we’re seeing lots of sport in this ranking (Swimming, bodybuilding,
                             sailing and jogging) but also some other motives. We can pretty safely assure you that
                             there’s no Cruella De Vil in our data - dogs and fur clothing show up very unrelated in
                             this top list, promise.

25
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                            Top 10 female US-American online daters ages above 55:

                             1    Food                                      6    Museums

           Grown-up but      2    Dogs                                      7    Ocean
 not stay-at-home at all:
   Women older than 55       3    Vehicles                                  8    Vision care

                             4    Endurance sports                          9    Drawing

                             5    Family                                   10    Portrait photography

                            Women older than 55 are very down-to-earth here. They love food, their family and
                            pets. Glasses are seen more often here and while still enjoying sports, art is also very
                            important here. Either in a museum or with an own canvas to fill. Some women in
                            this age group may not be too familiar with selfies or snapshots, so they use a
                            professional portrait like in their IDs as their profile picture.

26
Tiaras, dresses and horses?

                            What else is really very feminine? We took a brief view at traits that are often seen in
                            women’s pictures but rarely or never in men’s (at least a 99 percent women share).

                            Here’s our top 10:

     Cocktail dresses are    1    Cocktail dresses                         6    Little black dress
        solely for women
                             2    Tiaras                                   7    Bachelorette party

                             3    Mini skirts                              8    High heels

                             4    Swimsuits                                9    Scarfs

                             5    Corsets                                  10   Sunflowers

                            In some ways it is pretty obvious that we’re finding many especially “girly” things
                            here with this way of sorting our data. These are all things that are almost never seen
                            in men’s profile pictures. (Though we’ve spotted some funny guys in tight dresses
                            with feather boas…).

27
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                               Just in case you were wondering, we took a glance at all traits and looked for those
                               with an equal share of men and women (maximum 1 percent difference) and here’s
                               the surprising top list:

                                 1    Dolphins                                    6   Baby carriages

                                 2    Chapels                                     7   Castles

                                 3    Christmas                                   8   Frogs

                                 4    Chihuahuas                                  9   Volleyball

                                 5    Pastry icing                            10      Waves

                               Now that’s one revealing list. Men share an equal affection to all these things. In our
                               heads we paint a picture….of the man with a cupcake, in front of a romantic castle,
                               with a stroller and a tiny chihuahua next to him. Isn’t that lovely?

                               Horses - Cow girls or Prince Charming riding in?
                                                                 Who loves horses?
      There might be a good
                                                  55.48% Women
       chance to meet a real
     Prince Charming - or at
      least a skilled cowboy

                                                                                         44.52% Men

                               The numbers show it pretty clear: Horses are popular among both genders.
                               American men and women both show much affection to nature and to these
                               beautiful animals.

28
More girly stuff

                           Top 5 clothing items
                             1    Sunglasses

                             2    Leggings
    Sunglasses are very
 popular among women
                             3    Dresses

                             4    Swimsuits

                             5    Jewelry

                           Sunglasses look really cool but they also hide the eyes - which is a disadvantage. Still,
                           many women use them and sometimes even in all their pictures.
                           Leggings come in second here - a very popular clothing item. They can look really
                           good on women but also have been ridiculed a lot. Still, any item someone feels
                           comfortable and confident with should be fine in a profile picture.
                           Dresses, swimsuits and jewelry also made it to the Top 5. Jeans or other trousers
                           haven’t even made it to the Top 10.

                           Top 5 colors in women’s pictures
                             1    Blue

        Blue is the most     2    Black
         feminine shade
                             3    Red

                             4    Pink

                             5    White

                           Not so girly here: Blue comes in first as most detected color. Pictures with blue waters or
                           sky have been counted here, when blue was the dominant color in the picture. But also
                           blue dresses and gowns are on the rise.
                           Black and white come from monochrome photography or night pictures. But we also
                           have some “female” colors - red and pink. A little bit of princess flair is essential, we guess.
29
Women and sports

                               We’ve already seen that US-Americans love sports. So we checked what the most
                               popular ones are:

                               Top 5 most detected sports among female US-American online daters

                                 1   Fitness

                                 2   Extreme Sports
Fitness is the most detected
   sport in women’s profiles     3   Running

                                 4   Dancing

                                 5   Surfing

                               That’s a pretty cool list - though it might show that these are mostly individual sports.
                               As dancing includes cheerleading, this is the only sport that is done within a group or
                               a team within this list.

                                                 Top 3 sports especially performed by women

                                                     90.00%
                                                                     74%

                                                                                                         Men
                                                                                    46%

                                                     80.00%
                                                                    76.

                                                                                 71.

                                                                                                   41%

                                                     70.00%                                              Women
                                                                                               61.

                                                     60.00%
          Pilates, Yoga and                          50.00%
                                                                                             59%

                Dancing are
                                                                                          38.

                                                     40.00%
                                                                            54%

  sports with many women
                                                               26%

                                                                           28.

                                                     30.00%
         and not many men
                                                              23.

                                                     20.00%
                                                     10.00%
                                                          0
                                                               Pilates      Yoga           Dancing

                               We’ve found three sports where women outnumber their male counterparts. Sports
                               with an equal number of men and women are for example beach volleyball, ice
                               skating and parachuting.

30
How do Americans present

themselves - regardless of the gender?

             We’ve analysed     As we've clearly seen, there are many differences in the way men and women handle
         4.9 million pictures
                                their online dating profiles. But they also have a lot in common - such will be revealed
      from the US and more
     than 22 million in total   in the following chapter when we look at favorite spots and backgrounds, friends and
                                other subjects in pictures.

                                Generally speaking, the online dater should be in focus on the pictures, but showing
                                or surrounding themselves with cherished items or people adds to the overall picture
                                profile visitors get from the personality of a person.

                                But: Only 63.4 percent of all pictures clearly show a person. Pictures in which the face
                                can be fully seen are even rarer at 31.2 percent.
                                The overall picture is the highlight in online dating. We can tell from the sum of images
                                we've seen on a profile if the person they belong to could be a good match. Not only
                                just from their looks, but from what they show.

                                Travel pictures are always a good idea to show wanderlust or open-mindedness.
                                Beach, mountains, famous landscapes or tropical surroundings - show the places you
                                have been to.
                                Or you can show your social life, with friends or at parties - but make sure that you are
                                not the only one who finds these snapshots hilarious and that they represent you well.
                                There are many other things we’ve detected as add-ons in the pictures - pets, family,
                                food, accessories and so on. All these give clues and hints about the person behind the
                                picture, so let’s take a closer look in the upcoming chapters...

31
Most popular motives

                                Backgrounds matter! Online daters should definitely present themselves outside
                                their apartments or living rooms - a nice surrounding is always a good chance for a
                                lovely picture. This counts for Instagram as well as for dating profiles.
                                Natural light is better than pictures that have been taken inside, it’s more charming to
                                the complexion and it also shows that a person likes being outside.

                                City, countryside or beach?

                                We were pretty surprised to see these results here - forest beats beach by large. A
                                whopping 29 percent of all pictures shows trees, forests or flowers. With only
                                roughly 20 percent beaches coming in second. Pictures at home or inside buildings
                                are less popular, still the living room couch is a favourite spot for many Americans.
                                We have to add here that the home needs to be visible in order to be counted. So
                                indeed these 12.28 percent are only pictures featuring a couch, a desk, chair or any
                                other furniture or items that our AI could identify as interior in order to tag these
                                pictures with “home” or “room”- the real number of inside pics, including many selfies
                                where, at most, a white wall is seen in the back, is thus a little higher.
                                With so many great cities in this country, it is no surprise that they also show up in
                                this ranking. Deserts, mountains, and lovely gardens also find their spot here. Rare
                                are pictures in front of historical sides, underwater pictures are even more exotic.

                                            Which sceneries are the most popular for nice pictures?

                                                       2.05% Historical
                                                                                  1.41% Underwater
                                          7.03% Grassland/Garden
      Most American online
     daters prefer forest and
                                     8.90% Hills/Mountains
     nature as backgrounds
                                       9.00% Rocks/Desert                                        29.14% Forest/Nature

                                       10.71% City/Buildings

                                                                                              19.49% Beach/Bay/Sea/Ocean
                                                         12.28% Home

32
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                               Snow, sun or rain?

                               Pictures with “visible weather” are rarer than people might think. Selfies that mostly
                               show the person itself and not much surrounding are not given any weather tag. So,
                               only about a tenth of all pictures features some visible climate. A third shows simple
                               and nice daylight or sunshine. Romantic or spectacular sunrises and sunsets come
                               in second. Pictures at night, for example in front of illuminated skylines, are the third
                               most favourable. Snow still has a large share too - Americans love winter sports and
                               Christmas, or do we not? Least favourable are lightning, storms and rain - obviously.
             Sunsets are                         What’s the best weather to meet online daters?
 romantic, but not really
    suitable for pictures
                                               5.44% Lightning or storm            0.14% Rain
                                                    18.73% Snow
                                                                                          32.39% Sunshine or daylight

                                                    19.88% Night
                                                                                  23.42% Sunrise or sunset

                               Colors

                               I’m blue, da ba dee…: More than a third of all pictures have a dominant blue feature in
                               them. That includes blue sky, ocean, blue clothing but also filters that add a strong blue
                               tint to a picture. These all summed up are outnumbering monochrome photographs,
                               which are otherwise as well quite popular and also explain black and white in the second
                               and third rank.
                               Red is a color which, according to scientists, is the most attractive one. Pink on the
                               other hand is mostly associated with women - and indeed, 92% of all “pink” photos
                               are from female profiles. Very rare as dominant colors in a picture are purple, green
                               and yellow.

                                          What colors are used most often in online dating pictures?
                                                              2.28% Green
                                                                               1.20% Yellow
                                               3.60% Purple

                Filters with              9.17% Pink
     blue tint, oceans and
     blue clothing all sum
     up to a huge share of
        blue pictures here        12.74% Red

                                                                                                             33.99% Blue

                                     14.58% White

                                                                                              22.45% Black
33
What else is on these pictures?

     It’s not only the backgrounds that we’ve analyzed. A huge number of pictures also
     feature other things or people or focuses on features other than the face. Friends,
     children, animals, objects like cars or instruments - and also food or drinks. Let’s have
     a look at these.

34
First of all, let’s talk about bodies!

      Swimwear is most       It’s not a completely rare thing to come across slightly dressed people when
          popular among      browsing through profiles on regular dating platforms. Men and women equally
 women, whereas chests,      show their bodies, either at the gym or at the beach. But also selfies in underwear or
  hairy or not, are almost
     solely a men’s thing    lingerie are uploaded. About 2.5 percent of all images uploaded by women are
                             featuring underwear and 3.2 percent of all men show their naked chest (mostly from
                             behind).

                                                         Who shows the most skin?

                                                                                          88%
                                                                     15%

                                                    100.00%
                                                                                         95.
                                                                    92.

                                                     90.00%
                                                                                  25%

                                                     80.00%
                                                                                 71.

                                                     70.00%
                                                     60.00%
                                                     50.00%
                                                     40.00%
                                                                            75%
                                                                           28.

                                                     30.00%
                                                     20.00%
                                                               5%

                                                                                                2%
                                                              7.8

                                                     10.00%
                                                                                               4.1

                                                          0
                                                              Underwear    Swimwear       Topless

                                                                    Women          Men

35
Animals and pets

                             It is already crystal clear to see who the most favorite pet of US-Americans is: The dog.
                             More than 80 percent of all pet pictures feature a “good boy” or “good girl”. Cats come
                             in second, so they are clearly a very popular animal too - and win the meme war - but
                             are only to be seen in 16 percent of all pet pictures. The rest is little as 1.08 percent and
                             includes rodents, rats and mice.

                                               What pets do US-American online daters have?

                                                                               1.08% Others
                                                    16.24% Cat

                                                                                      82.68% Dog

     Top 5 most detected     Dogs mean a lot of responsibility and have a strong bound to their owners. So a “dog
             dog breeds:     person” is said to be reliable, outgoing and is able to take over the responsibility for
     1. Crossbreed           an animal that needs a lot of attention and care.
     2. Terrier              A wide variety of crossbreeds take up the #1 spot in the ranking for the most popular
     3. Labrador Retriever   breed. These include schnoodles (schnauzer + poodle), bulloxers (American bulldog
     4. Bulldog              + boxer), tamascan dogs (Siberian husky + Alaskan malamute) among many, many
     5. Pitbull              others.
                             Terriers, Labrador Retrievers, Bulldogs and Pitbulls also rank very high here.

36
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                                                            Top 20 American animal friends

                                                Dog
                                                 Cat
                                              Horse
                                                Fish
                                               Birds
                                      Cows & Bulls
                                 Whales & Dolphins
                                            Caneks
                                          Elephant
                                               Tiger
                                              Goats
                                           Reptiles
         “Holiday encounters”                Ducks
     with exotic animals are a             Monkey
      frequent photo motive                  Rabbit
                                             Giraffe
                                              Lama
                                             Sheep
                                         Kangaroo
                                                Lion

Horses are the third most        We’ve already taken a closer look on horses and their owners or riders. Fish however
     detected animals in         can be both, a bait (when on the rod) or an “animal friend” when met underwater or
  online dating pictures         at the aquarium. Birds include chicken and pigeons, but also exotic cockatoos,
                                 peacocks or giant ostriches. A bit of country feeling on #6 - cows and bulls also
                                 made it to the top 10, along with dolphins, camels, elephants and tigers.
                                 The rest of the list are rarer occurrences and include pets as well as exotic and
                                 domestic creatures.

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Look, these are my friends

                               Giving insights to the social life is something that many online daters do. Almost a
                               fifth (18.5 percent) of all pictures include other people such as friends, family or even
                               children.
                               When online daters show themselves within their social circle, the message is “look,
                               I’m not a sad person sitting alone at home”.
                               Earlier we learned that the average number of profile pictures uploaded by online
                               daters is five. We clearly recommend, that at least three of them are pictures of just
                               the profile’s owner - otherwise the focus isn’t clear enough. Also every online dater
                               wants to avoid questions like “who’s that hot friend on your right?” - so use group
                               pictures with caution.
                               Men and women almost equally use group photos. While we can’t say exactly in
                               numbers who the other people are, it should be clear that pictures with friends of
                               the opposite gender might cause suspicion, especially when they are really close,
                               cuddly or intimate.

                                                  Who teams up with their friends for photos?

                                                54.28% Women

              Women pose
          with their friends                                                             45.72% Men
     or families a bit more
     frequently than men

                                             Who tends to upload pictures kissing other people?

               Women are                       66.94% Women
     more likely to be seen
     kissing other people                                                                33.06% Men

                               We learn that cuddling or kissing is more of a women’s thing. Pictures tagged with
                               “kiss” show them giving (cheek) kisses to their friends or children, but we’ve also seen
                               a bunch of couple images who are looking for new acquaintances through online
                               dating services.
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Food

                              The way to an online dater's heart goes through his stomach? Well, online dating
                              isn’t Instagram so featuring food on profile pictures is a bit rarer here, but still one in
                              fifty pictures shows something more or less yummy.

          About 2 percent     Thus, we took a closer look at what online daters eat or present themselves with.
            of all pictures   Enjoying food shows that you’re a bon vivant who appreciates a good meal and
        have food in them
                              you’re not on a strict diet.
                              So, what can we see here? Is it more fast food or healthy snacks?

                              Top 10 meals or snacks

 US-American daters love a      1    Meat                                      6    Pizza
     good piece of meat
     or delicious sweets        2    Cake                                      7    Melon

                                3    Sweets                                    8    Fries

                                4    Seafood                                   9    Chocolate

                                5    Asian                                    10    Burger

                                                    What’s on your plate, singles of America?
 Fast food is more popular
   than healthy meals on                                16.75% Sweets
     online dating pictures

                                               39.57% Healthy food
                                                                                         43.68% Fast food

                              Pizza, burgers and fried food - American online daters love their fast food. Healthy
                              meals only take up about 40% in this chart.

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DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                               But who are these fast food lovers? We’ve looked at the gender ratio for both fast
                               food and healthy food and in both cases, men are a bit ahead of women - which is
                               quite surprising.

                                                Fast food versus Healthy food - Who eats what?

                                                           100.00%
     Men enjoy fast food a                                  90.00%
     bit more than women.                                                                                      Men
                                                            80.00%
      For healthy food the

                                                                         63%
        ratio is nearly even                                70.00%                                             Women

                                                                                               94%
                                                                     60.
                                                            60.00%

                                                                                          06%
                                                                                           53.
                                                            50.00%

                                                                               37%

                                                                                      46.
                                                                           39.
                                                            40.00%
                                                            30.00%
                                                            20.00%
                                                            10.00%
                                                                 0
                                                                     Fast food       Healthy food

                               For the next chart, the tables turn slightly: We’re looking at all those sweet teeth in
                               our data: Who loves sugar, candy and chocolate more than the other? Women are
                               slightly ahead of men here, but there’s no real peak.

                                            Men oder women? Who are the bigger sweet-eaters?

                                                   44.65% Men

   Sweets: Both genders
   love them, but women                                                                         55.35% Women
 outnumber men a tiny bit

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Drinks

                              Which drink should you hold in your hand when taking an online dating profile
                              picture? We’ve checked what beverages are the most popular ones to pose with.
                              Surprisingly, beer takes the biggest share here: 48.1 percent, that’s quite a lot. Beer is
                              very popular among all age groups. Looking at genders, men take the bigger share
                              here - 85 percent of all beer drinkers are men.
                              Liqueur on #2 is also a rather frequent add-on in online dating pictures, still men
                              take the bigger share here as well. Wine ranks at about 9 percent and all other
                              beverages are even rarer to be seen. Most of these drinks are alcoholic, too. We’re
                              guessing that water or juice just isn’t exciting enough to be featured on a dating
                              profile pic.

                                                      The American’s favourite beverages

                                          0.68% Champagne/Prosecco               0.61% Coke
               Beer is the                            1.70% Coffee
     most popular drink                                                           0.30% Water
                                                   2.68% Cocktail
     on dating profile pics                   3.56% Soft Drink
     while non-alcoholic
      drinks are very rare                    8.94% Wine

                                                                                                 48.10% Beer

                                                                                33.45% Liqueur

                              American online daters love to party, we’d say. Still we need to talk with the men. They
                              outnumber women on any alcoholic drink in this list, even champagne or cocktails. So,
                              please guys, use these pictures with caution. Make sure you’re not looking wasted. Not
                              every woman appreciates a “beercules”.

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Cars

                            Which cars are the most popular ones on dating profiles? While we must say that
                            only a small amount of online daters pose with their vehicles, we still took a look at
                            the favourite brands here:

                            Top 5 car brands on dating profiles

                             1    Jeep
          Jeep, Ford and
 Chevys - three American     2    Ford
       brands are taking
     the top spots here
                             3    Chevrolet

                             4    Honda

                             5    BMW

                            Americans love their own car brands and their SUV’s and pickup trucks. So we clearly
                            have a winner on #1: The jeep. A Japanese and a German brand also made it to our
                            Top 5 here.

                            If we look at the gender ratio for “posing with a car”, men clearly win this round. Only
                            about 17 percent of all car pictures come from women.

                                                    Who tends to pose with their car?
              A lot more
       men than women                          83.14% Men                         16.86% Women
     pose with their cars

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Most popular interests and hobbies

                             It is a very good idea to show things that you like on your pictures, many online
                             daters already act this out and thus we were able to create some more interesting
                             rankings here.

                             Top 10 most popular interests and hobbies from US-American online-daters

     Americans love sports     1   Sports                                    6    Fishing
       over anything else

                               2   Travel                                    7    Toys

                               3   Party                                     8    Tech

                               4   Restaurants and Bars                      9    Religion and culture

                               5   Movies and TV                             10   Weapons

                             Just as we have guessed, sports are at the absolute top here. There’s nothing
                             Americans love more than being physically active with a wide variety of sports, either
                             in a team or alone at the gym or outside.
                             Travel only ranks second here, and we’ll see on the next page what the most detected
                             sightseeing spots are. Will they all be within the country or do Americans also
                             frequently travel the globe? Party, bars and restaurants also made it to the Top 5,
                             Movies and TV have some passionate fans in online dating too. We were quite
                             surprised to see fishing here, even more than about the rest of the list, which is toys,
                             tech, religion and culture (We’ve counted churches, crucifixes and other religion
                             related traits here) and, of course, weapons - which we’ve discussed in an earlier
                             chapter of this study already. Altogether, this seems to be a pretty American list, right?

43
DatingScout Profile Picture Study 2019/2020: Selfies, Trucks and Dating Sites

                                  Travel

            The most popular      As earlier described, wanderlust and travel are two large themes. We have gathered
        landmark is the Eiffel    a list of the top tourist attractions and landmarks:
     Tower. It is also the most
      popular internationally
                                  Top 10 most photographed landmarks from US-American online daters

                                    1      Eiffel Tower (France)                    6    Big Ben (United Kingdom)

                                    2      Golden Gate Bridge (USA)                 7    Hollywood Sign (USA)

                                    3      Grand Canyon National Park (USA)         8    Disney World (USA)

                                    4      Chicago (USA)                            9    Tower Bridge (United Kingdom)

                                    5      Colosseum (Italy)                       10    Las Vegas (USA)

                                  Paris, the city of love, with the iconic Eiffel Tower is the number one top landmark to
                                  take a picture with. Everyone who has ever been to Paris surely took one, some
                                  might even have travelled there solely for that purpose. Six of the remaining nine
                                  spots in this top list are going to US landmarks, two are in London and only one is
                                  from a non English speaking country: Italy.

                                  Sports

                                  We already found out (and knew before) that America loves being sporty, with the
                                  upcoming list we’ll show you, which sports are the most detected ones in online
                                  dating profile pictures - men and women combined.

                                  Top 10 sports detected in US-American online dating profiles

                                    1      Fitness                                  6    Football
               Fitness is the
      most popular one here,        2      Extreme sports                           7    Surfing
      but some other iconic
       American sports also         3      Sailing/Boating                          8    Motorsports
        made it to the Top 10
                                    4      Running                                  9    Baseball

                                    5      Swimming                                10    Dancing

                                  Why is fitness in the top spot here? Well, men and women love to show their muscles
                                  at the gym. They also love to show how adventurous they can be by jumping out of
                                  planes or into canyons with a rope tied to the feet. It is quite surprising that the iconic
                                  team sports - football, baseball or basketball don’t take up the top spots here. The
                                  latter one even only made it to #25 in the most detected sports in this analysis. Seeing
                                  “dancing” in #10 is on the other hand quite entertaining.

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